Fake jobs: ‘Bond Wanted’ ad at Gov.UK has British government stirred & shaken

ET Bureau|

Updated: Dec 26, 2012, 03.03 AM IST

Fake job: ‘Bond Wanted’ ad has British government stirred and shaken

Looking for a cool job? For a brief while, before a tech blogsite spotted it, there was a job on the official UK government jobsite you may have liked. The position advertised: Target elimination specialist. "To remove people whose continued existence poses a risk to the effective conduct of public order." Job code: 007.

Perks included foreign travel, jet packs, fancy watches and an array of passports. You would be a prime candidate if you like your martinis shaken, not stirred.

Sorry to break your hearts, guys, but it was a fake job put up by a prankster - but a prank that has shaken up more than martinis in the British government. Gov.UK is the official UK government jobsite which advertises all jobs that go through its job centres et al, a consolidated website that was launched with much fanfare and advertising in November this year.

It's mostly used by government agencies, as well as the private sector for those mandatory job listings. But sadly, from the day it's been launched the website has faced more flak than a rampaging Daniel Craig because it seems anyone and everyone can sneak into it.

The experience is not unique to the UK government; fake job listings are the bane of every other jobsite. Unfortunately for the UK government, intrepid tech news sites who are calling this a Skyfail have captured screenshots of the 007 listing; so it keeps circulating on the blogosphere. The Bond job was advertised by a group that called itself MI6 recruitment - with a Hotmail address. Right. Other fake jobs included positions with the Mafia; but we don't have screenshots of those around. Admins have reportedly yanked off at least 6000 fake jobs since the 007 fiasco. We're told that they're being far more vigilant on Gov.Uk now, to make sure and keep out pranksters.

Bah. I so badly want a jet pack and I can meet my martinis, shaken and stirred without flinching. If only the ad had lasted long enough for me to sneak in some kind of gender discrimination complaint into a court, Britain being Britain, and this being the official government jobsite, MI6 may have even been forced to gimme something. I'd settle for a funky gizmo lighter if they don't have jet packs.

Tailpiece

Did you hear about the Australian woman who just won a court case for compensation from her government? She was a government employee, on a business trip, and while having sex (with whom or when is obviously not specified, but we can assume it may not have been her legal mate, if any) a light fitting fell on her face and disfigured her.

The woman claimed it was a work-related injury, her insurers and employers thought not. The court ruled that even if she'd been playing a game of cards and a light fitting fell on her, that would count as work-related on a business trip, so she can claim. Now, now, don't get naughty ideas. India doesn't work like that.